US investment in Ireland may be hush hush in 2012 says expert

Ireland and the United States and Irish and Irish-AmericansKevin Thoule

Future investment in 2012 in Ireland may be hush hush from American companies because of the political risks involved, an analyst for the Irish Examiner says.

Conor Keane thinks the political situation in the U.S. might cause a negative view of US investment dollars coming to Ireland, especially in an election year.

Like many of their European counterparts, many U.S. politicians feel Ireland’s corporation tax of 12.5% is attracting U.S. companies to set up shop in Ireland, to the detriment of the US economy.

In his piece in the Irish Examiner, Conor Keane mentions a quote Republican Presidential Michele Bachman gave to the New York Times to illustrate this.

"There are over 600 American companies that have gone to Ireland because of the tax rate. Over 100,000 jobs. I want those 100,000 jobs back in the United States," said the congresswoman from Minnesota.

Keane refutes this claim by highlighting statistics from an American Chamber of Commerce report that says that Irish companies in America employ some 120,000, while US businesses employ just under 90,000 in Ireland.

While he contends that U.S. investment will continue in the Emerald isle, he argues that it will be done quietly to avoid being associated with the view that U.S. jobs are being exported to Ireland.

However, Keane argues that with the election cycle in full flow, these facts might get lost in the rush, and the challenge is now to make sure that Americans know that Ireland gives back more that it supposedly takes. He contends that Ireland can act as a springboard to the European market for US companies, and that the Emerald Isle need to utilized as such as opposed to a punch line in a presidential candidate’s speech about lost employment.

Ireland and the United States and Irish and Irish-AmericansKevin Thoule